O trinômio economia, energia e meio ambiente[The triplet economy, energy and environment]

This article aims to identify the debate on the triad economy, energy and environment, providing a greater focus to the issue of climate change. After historically contextualize the economic use of energy and expose the current global energy picture, describes the environmental issue in the light of economic science, stating the two main theoretical approaches of environmental economics. Finally, the article devoted to the important and urgent but controversial debate about the impact of energy model on climate change. Pointed out that, despite a current minority dissenting, the world has significant and reliable evidence that the economic system through several segments, especially the intensive use of energy, may be contributing to the changes in climatic conditions of planet. Energy use and the need to readjust it, both in terms of greater efficiency on the issue of replacing the current fossil energy sources to less carbon-intensive, was one of the main conclusions of the discussion about how to direct the economic system to a path of greater sustainability.